LAOTY on YouTube - complete programmes and critiques!

I was very surprised to find that one of the comments on my post yesterday about Review: Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025) was from a long time friend of mine who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area who had watched that episode on YouTube!

Now I know episodes from various television programmes were sometimes recorded and uploaded to YouTube by those wanting to get visits - but it's not allowed. Copyright etc etc.

Nevertheless, I took a look - and there it was.

So this is by way of telling you what I found. I'm not linking to any and they may disappear very soon when Sky Arts catches up with them.

But these are the ones which are out there

LAOTY on YouTube

Series 10 (2025)

• Episodes 1 through 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10

Series 9 (2024)

Somebody with the initials TW is making a playlist

• Episodes 5 through 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 9 (4 are hidden - presumably 1-4)

PS I've just read the "The Times" review of the Final of this Series on Apple News - and all I can say is I don't know how broadsheets survive!

Series 8 (2023)

TW strikes again!

• Episodes 5 through 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 8 (4 are hidden - presumably 1-4)

Series 7 (2022)

also by TW

• Landscape Artist Of The Year S07E08 Winners Film

Series 6 (2021)

• Ophelia Redpath’s Winning Vision | Landscape Artist of the Year - this is the heat episode which Ophelia won.

Other than that there's an awful lot of 30 second trailers.

More critiques!!

Plus somebody called Jo McKenzie who is an art tutor living in the USA makes 10-15 minute videos critiquing the submissions and paintings produced by pod artists - which are interesting. 

I think Jo is walking the right side of the copyright line as she, like me, is reviewing the paintings (whereas I'm reviewing the programme) and as some (most?) of us know, criticism and reviews are a "fair use" exemption to copyright laws - see my Art Business Info for Artists website and the page about https://www.artbusinessinfo.com/copyright-and-fair-use-for-artists.html

Copyright Infringement
and "Fair Use"

​Basics for Art and Artists 

Review: Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025)

The "landscape" for Episode 3 of Landscape Artist of the Year was a civil engineering structure - the very wide Clifton Suspension Bridge connecting the two very steep sides of the Avon Gorge in Clifton in Bristol.

View of the Pods in front of part of Clifton Suspension Bridge

Episode 3: Clifton Suspension Bridge

This review - of Episode 3 of Series 10 of Landscape Artist of the Year - follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

The programme is available to view on Sky Arts on Sky/Freeview/NowTV.

Location and Weather

The view was of the Clifton Suspension Bridge which spans over 702 ft (214 m) across the Avon Gorge and is  nominally 249 ft (76 m) above the River Avon.  It had the longest span of any bridge in the world at the time of construction.

• designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859)
• started in 1831and completed in 1864.
• Brunel only finished the towers before he died in 1859
• the suspension chains recovered from the earlier Hungerford Suspension Bridge by Brunel and reused for this bridge
• it has a very informative website and also a museum.

The view also included one very steep side of the Avon Gorge and Leigh Woods which grows up it.

Fortunately the weather was fine with some cloud but no rain.

The Pods were located on the terrace at the rear of the Avon Gorge Hotel on Sion Hill in Clifton Village. (You too can sit out on the terrace and have a go)

This is the view they were looking at

View from the Pods

The Wildcards had a rather more ACUTE angled view from an area of grass at the top of Sion Hill.

Top down view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Avon Gorge Hotel
and the grass at the top of Sion Hill

The Wildcards adjacent to Sion Hill

The Artists in the Pods

Episode 3 pod artists are listed and profiled BELOW in the alphabetical order of their surnames; including

• a synopsis of their background
• Links to their websites (if they have one) are embedded in their names.
• Social media platforms are also referenced

The artists in Episode 3

I don't remember the bit in the entry requirements which said that if you are a chap you must also have small goatee beard....

• Ian Cox (Facebook | Instagram) an artist and fine art printmaker from Devon who chose to work in charcoal for the submission and heat. He used charcoal dust to allow him to get tonal shapes down fast - which seemed like a jolly sensible idea to me - plus fine charcoal pencils.
• Kieran Guckian (Instagram) - Born in Dublin, Kieran attended Crawford College of Art and Design graduating with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art Painting. He switched from his career in web design to becoming a full time artist a year prior to the heat - so this was a big opportunity for him.

I'm always drawn to landscapes that have a sense of time and am happiest painting in the mountains.

• Jonathan Hargreaves (Instagram) - an oil painter and illustrator based in Sockport. He used to cycle for Team GB. Apparently he has featured on Sky Arts on a number of occasions - but does not say how. My blog indicates that he won Heat 2 in 2017, participated in Heat 1 in 2018. I liked the fact he chose to include the balustrades which grounded "how" you could see this view.

If you’re not familiar with the program it’s like an arty cross between the National Lottery and Squid Games. 

• Sarah Harris  (Instagram) a mixed media artist based in Warrington. She produced a very large and rather psychedelic submission featuring a graphic building and flowers. I struggled to find any landscape artwork on her website. (Do Selectors not look at websites at all?)
• Charlotte Kenyon (Facebook | Instagram) - She likes architecture and cityscapes and works in gouache on paper. She favours attention to meticulous detail when painting structures and likes opaque shapes. I really like her Sea Kale, Walberswick Beach. Gouache on paper.

• Chris Priestly (Instagram) - a painter and writer based in Cambridge. He also illustrates children's books. He's got a very apt post on Instagram about the experience - worth a read.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Christopher Priestley (@christopherpriestley)

• Jo Rance (Instagram) - a contemporary british painter living and working in Cambridgeshire. He work is informed by her local countryside, flora and fauna through the seasons and via drawing on location. She has a background in textile design and she graduated from Loughborough University. Now moving into painting, she works primarily works with acrylic on canvas in her studio and uses vibrant colour palettes and a decorative painting style. She has been consistently exhibiting with a wide range of venues and has a show at Cambridge Contemporary Art in June 2025 - and I have to say I am not surprised.
• Dan Wall (Facebook) She lives in Bristol. I must confess I was very puzzled as to how this individual got selected - although the submission was good. I'm afraid I cannot take anybody seriously who brings a soft toy which is referred to as "a familiar". It all came across to me as a bit of "a drama / performance art / look at me". Not really what this  competition is about.

Themes and Learning Points

Quotes are included below from the followers of my Making A Mark Facebook Page - who have a lot to say.

Yet another very silly location

Tracy Emin became a Dame yesterday

Yesterday, Tracy Emin went to Buckingham Palace and came out with a nice award in smart box which signified she has become a Dame.

She actually received the honour - for services to the arts - in The King's Birthday Honours List in June 2024 - and yesterday was her investiture when she received her honour. 

Back in 2013, she had previously received the honour of being made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her contributions to the visual arts. Her career as an artist and latterly as a supporter of artists has lasted for over four decades.

Dame Tracy Emin - after receiving her

Did you know that anyone can nominate anyone for an honour - see Nominate someone for an honour or award

Following her close call with bowel cancer in 2020, she has revisited her purpose in life and has focused more on creating opportunities for others via her Tracy Emin Foundation, the Tracy Emin Art Residency and new studios she has created in Margate in Kent.

In addition to her artistic achievements, Tracey has made it her mission to support the next generation of artists. Through the Tracey Emin Foundation in Margate, she has created a hub for creativity and opportunity, providing resources, mentorship, and space for emerging talent to thrive.

Her work extends beyond art, demonstrating a deep commitment to fostering community and ensuring that art remains accessible and inclusive. Tracey’s foundation stands as a testament to her belief in the transformative power of creativity and the importance of nurturing new voices in the art world

This is a BBC World Service video made about her recently. It includes a tour of the Tracy Emin Studio.

From a rebellious star in contemporary art in the 1990s to receiving the title of Dame by King Charles for her service to the visual arts in 2024, Tracey Emin is an icon.

Below you can find links to recent activities.

Tracy Emin REFERENCE

Tracy Emin websites

• Tracy Emin Foundation
• Tracey Emin Art Residency
• Tracy Emin Studio | Instagram
• TKE Studios | Instagram - a professional artist studio, exhibition and lecture space in Margate, UK.
  

Biography

• Dame Tracy Emin RA | Royal Academy of Arts - includes a mini bio
• Tracy Emin | Wikipedia

Articles

Interestingly Emin gets relatively little press these days. In relation to the investiture, the BBC prioritised Anna Wintour being made a Companion of Honour for her services to fashion.

• The radical, ravishing rebirth of Tracey Emin: ‘I didn’t want to die as some mediocre YBA’ | The Guardian
• Tracey Emin leads a mutiny against the art schools by Waldemar Januszczak | The Times

Woke art in London is going broke

This isn't as much a blog post by me, as me alerting you to an interesting article in The Evening Standard on 30th January. It's a very interesting article which I think will resonate with a lot of people - and it's a RECOMMENDED READ from me.

How the capital's art world went broke on woke alerted me to a few things I didn't know before

The author JJ Charlesworth is an art critic, art magazine editor and writer with twenty-five years of experience in contemporary art, publishing and education. Since 2006 he has worked on the editorial staff of the London-based international art magazine ArtReview, where he is one of the editors. He says he has also lectured and taught extensively, tutoring at London’s Royal College of Art, the Royal Academy Schools and Central St Martins College

Below I summarise

• key points from what he has to say
• commentary from me - marked up as "ME"

So what does he have to say?

Here's some key points:

Major financial challenges 

• major art institutions in London face major financial challenges
• the Tate and the Royal Academy of Arts have announced serious deficits (£11million and £2 million respectively)

Changing agendas do not bring in punters

Over the past few years art galleries have been pursuing programming agendas that don’t always resonate with audiences.

• culture wars (decolonisation / identity politics / Just Stop Oil etc etc) are not attractive to many exhibition visitors
• whereas major art galleries can host sell-out exhibitions for major "old favourite" artists from the past (e.g. Monet at the Courtauld; Van Gogh at the National Gallery in 2024)

ME: I think he's got a very important point.

He quotes numbers of visitors for institutions compared to pre-pandemic levels and suggests which ones are struggling 

Review: Episode 2 of Landscape Artist of the Year Series 10 (2025)

Snowdon in the background and the pods left of centre (next to bright green grass)

At last! A real landscape everywhere you looked. This week's episode came from the foothills of Snowdon - the highest mountain in the UK outside Scotland.

Very many of the people commenting on my Facebook page said they had been all set to stop watching Landscape Artist of the Year 2025 based on the ridiculous subject for last week's episode. 

A lot of people are really fed up with the programme's complete obsession with buildings - which are NOT LANDSCAPES. 

But this episode may have saved the day..... More of which below!

Episode 2: Mount Snowdon

This review follows the same format of my other reviews and considers.

• the location and weather
• the artists' profiles
• themes arising during the episode
• who was shortlisted and who won

Location and Weather

The subject of this week's episode was Yr Wyddfa, otherwise known as Mount Snowdon. 

They were very lucky with the weather which was dry and sometimes warm!

The Pods and wildcards were together on a flat piece of land inbetween Llanberis Station and the lake called Llyn Padam and just north of the National Slate Museum and across the lake from the village of Llanberis in the Snowdonia National Park.

The Pods with the Artists and The Wildcards with their Easels
on the one bit of fairly flat land overlooking both Snowdon and the Lake!

They had great views of the end of Llyn Padam, the roofs of the National Slate Museum, the ruined 13th century Dolbadarn Castle - which was painted by a Young JMW Turner! (see his painting here) - and across to Snowdon

The map co-ordinates for anybody wanting to pay a visit and have a go at Snowdon

are 53.123870, -4.119035

This is the view they were looking at

The view

The Slate Museum (and slate quarries are off to the left, the 13th century castle is straight in front. Snowdon is also top left and Llanberis is across the lake.

I loved how all the artists tackled a proper larger than life, possibly overfacing in its sublimity, landscape.

They each were able to tackle it in largely the same way they’d approached their submission and we got a better sense of what they could all do in a “real life” situation rather than one of the stately home views that can force an artist to make bad choices due to the pressures of the day. comment on my Facebook Page

The Artists in the Pods

Episode 2 pod artists are listed BELOW in the alphabetical order of their surnames;
including

• a synopsis of their background
• Links to their websites (if they have one) are embedded in their names.
• Social media platforms are also referenced

Episode 2 artists: Clare, Kayla, Anna, Charlotte and Marcio, Mike, Mark and Simon